OKLAHOMA PHARMACISTS WILL FACE HIGHER GENERICS COSTS

The Oklahoma Health Care Authority (OHCA) board of directors
approved a higher charge per prescription for pharmacists in their
state. The new formula for determining the raised prices is based on
the cost of dispensing multisource generic drugs. The cost, which
was last adjusted in December 2004 to $8.30 per prescription, is
expected to go as high as $9 this month, when the provisions of the
Deficit Reduction Act of 2005 go into effect. The goal of the directive
from Congress is to remedy the difference in the costs of ingredients
in the generic drugs, compared with their brand-name counterparts.

According to Nancy Nesser, DPh, JD, pharmacy director for the
OHCA, the approved increase should not alter the cost of the drugs to
patients, and it is expected to reduce overall costs to the state by 25%.
She said, however, that pharmacists were expected to encourage
more purchases of brand name drugs, which could lead to higher
costs for the state and patients alike.The changes were not scheduled
to go into effect any earlier than January 2007 and could take as long
as 7 months; the new formula laid out in the legislation is not being
required by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services until July.